Placerville , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- California 's attorney general is `` actively reviewing '' an animal charity executive who had agreed not to take a higher office with another charity after a state investigation into how her previous employer had spent its donations , a spokesman for the AG 's office told CNN .

The woman at the center of the review , Terri Crisp , has been identified by SPCA International in its tax filings as one of its directors or officers . She also serves as the spokeswoman for the charity 's `` Baghdad Pups '' program which , according to SPCA International , `` helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone . ''

Before her work with SPCA International , Crisp headed the California-based animal rescue charity Noah 's Wish , which received millions of dollars in donations after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005 . It promised to use the money to help animals affected by the disaster

The California attorney general investigated whether contributions to Noah 's Wish for `` rescuing and caring for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina '' were used for that purpose .

In the summer of 2007 , Noah 's Wish reached a settlement agreement with the state of California in which the charity agreed to forfeit $ 4 million in donations out of the $ 8 million raised by the charity .

Under that settlement , Crisp agreed not to `` serve as an officer , director or trustee or in any position having the duties or responsibilities of an officer , director or trustee , with any nonprofit organization for a period of five -LRB- 5 -RRB- years from the date of the execution of this Settlement Agreement . ''

Yet in a filing with the North Carolina secretary of state 's office last year , SPCA International named Crisp in its list of officers and directors .

California 's attorney general launched the investigation into Noah 's Wish after a bookkeeper with the charity and others alerted his office to questionable business practices .

The former bookkeeper , who wants to conceal her identity for reasons unrelated to her work at Noah 's Wish , told CNN that donations came pouring into Noah 's Wish soon after Hurricane Katrina . Crisp had appealed for donations on numerous television networks , including CNN .

`` There was cash , there were checks , there were cashiers checks , there were letters -- heartbreaking letters from kids who , instead of having birthday parties , they wanted all the money to go to Noah 's Wish to help those poor little animals , '' the woman said . `` On a given day , we would have , oh my gosh , easily $ 20,000 ... just in checks . ''

And she said suddenly Terri Crisp changed , hiring her daughter and acting as if the money was hers to keep . Both made six-figure salaries , the former bookkeeper said .

`` Terri at one time said , ` I 've worked hard for so many years , doing animal rescue , I am entitled to this money . ' ''

When approached by CNN at her Placerville , California , home , Crisp told CNN she has `` nothing to hide '' but refused to answer any detailed questions without permission from the organization 's communications director .

CNN requested an on-camera interview several weeks ago from Stephanie Scott , the SPCA International public relations director , but Scott never responded either by phone or e-mail .

Standing on the lawn of her home , Crisp told CNN that `` you 've taken a lot of the information '' provided by SPCA International and `` reported it incorrectly . ''

CNN said now was her chance to correct the record she saw as inaccurate .

`` I would love to but as I said , I 'm an employee of SPCA International . ''

She added , `` I ca n't answer any of your questions . Believe me , I would love to . ''

She did tell CNN that the Noah 's Wish board of directors set her salary and that she is now an employee , not a director , at SPCA International .

A CNN investigation into SPCA International found that the charity raised close to $ 27 million to help animals worldwide but spent nearly all of that money on fund-raising expenses paid to a direct-mail company .

In 2010 , SPCA International owed $ 8.4 million to Quadriga Art and its affiliated company , Brickmill Marketing Services , according to publicly available Internal Revenue Service 990 tax records .

Quadriga Art is one of the world 's largest direct-mail providers to charities and nonprofits . It is the same fund-raiser hired by two veterans charities that spent tens of millions of dollars for its services -- triggering a Senate investigation last month into whether one of the charities should retain its tax-exempt status .

That charity , Washington-based Disabled Veterans National Foundation , collected nearly $ 56 million in donations over the past three years yet paid Quadriga Art more than $ 60 million in fees , according to a CNN investigation into the charity 's tax records .

The other veterans charity , National Veterans Foundation , raised more than $ 22 million in donations over the past three years to help veterans yet spent about $ 18.2 million to pay Quadriga Art , according to IRS 990 forms .

SPCA International is still in debt to Quadriga Art , according to a spokeswoman for the direct-mail firm , adding that 's part of the charity 's `` aggressive strategy '' to build a broad donor base .

`` That resulted in an expected high cost in the beginning of their acquisition program , '' said the spokeswoman , who declined to be named . She called SPCA International 's efforts a `` successful strategy . ''

There 's no question that a charity needs to spend money to raise money , according to Bob Ottenhoff , president of the charity watchdog group Guidestar . But he said that SPCA International 's tax records raise `` a number of red flags . ''

`` No. 1 , there is an enormous amount of money going into fund-raising , '' Ottenhoff said . `` It 's not unusual for a nonprofit to fund-raise . In fact they need to fund-raise . But this organization has an enormous amount of fund-raising costs , certainly relative to the amount of money being spent . ''

Of the $ 14 million raised in 2010 , SPCA International reports it spent less than 0.5 % -- about $ 60,000 -- in small cash grants to animal shelters across the United States . It also said it spent about $ 450,000 -- about 3 % of the total raised in 2010 -- to bring back animals from Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its `` Baghdad Pups '' program .

In addition to its questionable finances , CNN found that SPCA International misrepresented the `` Baghdad Pups '' program on its tax filings .

On its website and its tax filings , SPCA International describes as a program that `` helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone . ''

Yet the charity admitted that only 26 of the nearly 500 animals transported to the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan were actually service animals . The rest were stray animals , said Stephanie Scott , the charity 's communications director .

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Under a 2007 settlement , Terri Crisp agreed not to serve as a charity official

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Yet , last year , she was named as one of SPCA International 's directors and officers

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California 's attorney general is now reviewing Crisp 's involvement with SPCAI